-Uses mediation as a means of resolving disputes
THE National Assembly, on Thursday evening, unanimously approved a Bill that will alleviate the number of petty cases that is, at present, flooding the courts. The Alternative Dispute Resolution Bill, commonly referred to as ‘ADR’ in the legal fraternity, was presented to the House by Attorney General (AG) and Minister of Legal Affairs, Charles Ramson, S.C..
The AG said the Bill provides an alternative to litigation in the resolution of conflicts, as Guyana has been said to be a very litigious society.
The Bill offers relief to judges by way of statutory imprimatur to amicably resolve disputes that would otherwise entail prolonged litigious proceedings. However, disputes that are of a criminal nature, have to go through due process in the courts.

Minister Ramson said the Bill deals specifically with two types of processes – mediatory and evaluation. Mediators and evaluators are selected by the Chancellor of the Judiciary.          
The mediatory process is whereby a mediator creates the atmosphere where parties can come to some sort of arrangement without any legal recourse.
In the evaluation process, on the other hand, the evaluator would have to take into account and identify and reduce issues of fact and law.
The AG said that, “the Bill also deals with admissibility of evidence to allow for some comfort in the mediation and evaluation process.”
He added that the Bill is designed to render the dispute between the parties, less adversarial, as it is adding another tier to the resolution facility that is provided in the laws of Guyana and it does not require the commencement of litigation before the process of mediation and evaluation takes place.
PPP Member of Parliament, Moses Nagamootoo, in supporting the Bill, said that it will help to develop a culture where people would prefer to resolve their disputes rather than go through a long judicial saga.  
He was joined by his colleague from the Government benches, Rev. Kwame Gilbert who said that “mediation empowers parties to create their own solution and is very instructive in an environment that is becoming more and more acrimonious.”
Dharamkumar Seeraj, a PPP Member of Parliament as well, also echoed support for the Bill and reiterated the desperate need to lessen congestion in the courts by reducing a large number of petty cases, which this piece of legislation seeks to do.
PNCR Member of Parliament, Clarissa Reihl said the Bill speaks essentially to mediation and court-connected mediation (after court proceedings have been filed).
She explained that mediators are trained persons who will sit with conflicting parties and guide them to a “win-win” solution, without the acrimony that result from court proceedings.
The Government Information Agency (GINA) reported that at present, there are 70 trained mediators in Guyana, many of whom hail from the legal profession.